Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2021: Teams, top players, venues, dates & all you need to know

The Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2021 is scheduled to commence from January 10 onwards and will run until January 31. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently confirmed that India’s delayed 2020-21 domestic season will be launching with the T20 tournament. Several teams have already announced their list of probables, with former cricketer Yuvraj Singh coming out of retirement to likely play for Punjab again and speedster Sreesanth returning from his seven-year ban to make it to Kerala’s expanded squad.

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Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2021 to pave way for youngsters in IPL 2021

The Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2021 was originally scheduled to be played between November and December. However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic forced BCCI to shift the entire tournament to January next year. The three-week event is set to be played across seven different venues under a biosecure environment, with 38 teams set to compete for the coveted trophy.

The Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2021 will also serve as an ideal benchmark to test out youngsters in time for the Indian Premier League 2021 (IPL 2021) season. Prior to the cash-rich league, Team India will be facing England in four Tests, five T20Is and three ODIs at home, i.e. immediately after the conclusion of Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2021 season.

Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2021 venues

India's domestic T20 competition will be played at seven different venues, with bio-secure bubbles having already been created to ensure there is no lapse. Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Vadodara, Kolkata and Indore will host the league matches of the competition. The knockout fixtures will be played at the newly built Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.

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Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2021 groups and schedule updates

The 38 teams are divided into six groups. The five elite groups are labelled A, B, C, D and E while the sixth group is known as the Plate Group. While a detailed schedule for the tournament is yet to be released by BCCI on their social media accounts, a report by ESPNCricinfo states that the knockouts will be played between January 27 and 31. Here is a list of all 38 teams and their respective placements in the six groups.

Elite Group A (Venue: Bengaluru): J&K, Karnataka, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Railways, Tripura

Elite Group B (Venue: Kolkata): Odisha, Bengal, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Hyderabad

Elite Group C (Venue: Vadodara): Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Baroda, Uttarakhand

Elite Group D (Venue: Indore): Services, Saurashtra, Vidarbha, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Goa

Elite Group E (Venue: Mumbai): Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala, Puducherry

Plate Group (Venue: Chennai): Chandigarh, Meghalaya, Bihar, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh

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Image source: BCCI Domestic Twitter